Releasing The Demons
by Madelynn Rae
Summary: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked.
1. Calling

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. Again, not sure if it fits the qualities of Mary Sue, because the character isn't me, not everyone adores her, she's not great at everything, etc.

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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Undertaker paced back and forth in his locker room. Kane was going through so much, and there wasn't anything he or anyone else could do to calm him down or get it through his thick head that people weren't making fun of him. He wouldn't open up to anyone or let anyone in.

He sat down, thinking some more. _There has GOT TO BE someone he can talk to out there…Anyone…_

Then he remembered a girl he used to know…

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__

Knock knock knock.

Mrs. Calloway looked out the window and saw a girl with curly, red hair pulled back in a bow, wearing a pink dress and some black Mary Janes. She looked about 12 years old. Mrs. Calloway smiled.

"Kane, sweetheart, Ember is here!"

A handsome young boy with curly brown hair and hazel eyes ran down the stairs and practically flew towards the door, opening it. He was tall, very tall for 13, and quite built from helping to haul around gravestones and such for his father, who was a mortician.

Kane smiled and invited his little red-headed friend in. They both walked up the stairs to Kane's room to play with one of his new games.

"What is it, what is it?" Ember asked excitedly.

"I think it's called a weenie board or something like that."

An even taller boy walked out of one of the rooms in the hall, rolling his eyes in annoyance, his long, auburn hair pulled into a braid.

"Ouija Board, you dipstick." Kane stopped and put his hands on his hips, glaring at his older brother, who was 16.

"Well if you're so smart, _Marcus_, why don't you come play with it with us?"

"My name's Mark, not Marcus, and Ouija Boards aren't toys, they're used to communicate with the dead… or with demons. They're really dangerous."

"Dangerous smangerous, come on!"

The young boy and girl started down towards the hall, and Mark sighed in exasperation as he walked along behind them…

______________

'Taker smiled, then grabbed his cell phone and started to dial…

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To be continued…


	2. Acceptance of a Request

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. Again, not sure if it fits the qualities of Mary Sue, because the character isn't me, not everyone adores her, she's not great at everything, etc.

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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A middle-aged red haired woman stood in front of a sink, wearing tight, faded blue jeans and a black, button-up, sleeveless shirt. Her hair was pulled in a half pony, the rest of her thick hair falling down her back. She was washing dishes when the phone rang. She sighed and grabbed a towel, drying off her hands, and walked over, picking it up and propping it on her shoulder to keep drying her hands.

"Hello?"

"Ember, is that you?" Ember furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Who is this?"

"It's Mark… Mark Calloway… remember?"

Ember set the towel down and grabbed the phone, now listening VERY closely.

"…Marcus? Is that really you?"

'Taker smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it's me Em… but I'm not here to catch up on old times… it's about Kane."

Ember quickly sat down.

"Kane? What's wrong?"

"He… well, for a match stipulation… if he lost, he'd have to unmask… he's gotten really violent and paranoid, and he thinks everyone's making fun of him, when the only person I know who has is that damned commentator, Jerry Lawler. He's… well, no one can 'reach' him or talk to him, and I thought maybe, just maybe, you could get to him."

She rubbed her forehead.

"I don't know…"

"Please? He told you EVERYTHING when you were kids…" 

She sighed.

"Okay…"

___________________

Kane sat in his locker room, head in his hands. It was like he could hear the voices as they made fun of him, and all he could do was cover his ears and cry, like he did when he was younger, after the fire…

__

What an ugly beast! Did you see that? Wow, that mug could break a camera!

"STOOOOOOOOOOP!" He got up and grabbed a chair, throwing it against the wall. He sat in the corner, curled up, holding his head, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I," he said between sobs, "would… give anything… for Ember to be here…"

_________________________

Ember, 17 now, stood by Kane's beside in the hospital… his face was covered with bandages, as well as his right arm, hand, and stomach. The doctors played her to be stupid and naïve and told her they were 'fixing him up' and that he'd be all better soon, but she knew better. He had been horribly burned and disfigured, and there wasn't a good chance he'd heal. She cried, holding his good hand.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Kane… I'm sorry I couldn't help you… I… I'm so sorry!"

She hugged him, resting her head on his chest. He stirred a bit, then gently stroked her hair with his good arm.

"Not… your… fault…" His voice was very quiet and raspy, almost whispery. His vocal cords and been burned, too. Those could heal, but it would take a long time. If he just HAD TO speak, he could whisper softly, but he was not allowed to raise his voice any higher than a whisper. He couldn't either way, even if he tried. 

He rubbed her back slowly, then gently tugged on her hair, trying to tell her to look up at him. One of his eyes was bandaged up, too. She heard a doctor say he would be blind in that eye.

"Love… you… always." She smiled through her tear-streaked face.

"Love you too, Kaney."

"Hey… not… my… name." She knew he wasn't really mad, though he couldn't smile, she knew he was on the inside. She took his hand and kissed his palm.

"Best friends forever, no matter what."

****

To be continued… (In the flashback sequence, Kane and Ember weren't dating or anything, they were just really good friends… or were they?)


	3. Ouija Boards and Airports

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. 

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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Kane, Mark, and Ember all sat around the Ouija Board, simply staring at it. None of them knew quite what they were supposed to do. Mark did, of course, but he didn't want to. His last experience with an Ouija Board wasn't, well… it wasn't fun. He and a girlfriend were messing with it, and the damn thing flew up and hit him in the forehead.

Kane looked over at Ember.

"Em, do something!"

She looked at him, eyes widened, and hit his arm.

"_You_ do something!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

Mark groaned and rolled his eyes, placing his hands on the triangular piece.

"Fine, _I'll_ do it." 

The moment they were all quieted, the cursor started to move.

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F…I…R…E…

Kane and Ember looked at Mark, whose eyes were widened.

"You moved it, didn't you!"

He simply shook his head. He cleared his throat and asked the board a question.

"When? Where? How?"

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5…Y…R…S…

Kane tilted his head.

"What's that supposed to mean? Five years, maybe?"

Mark took his hand off the piece, and then it seemed to move by itself.

__

H…E…R…E…

"How? How does it start? Wait, disregard that… Who starts it?"

__

…

The board never answered…

___________________________________________________________________________________________

'Taker drove to the airport to pick Ember up. He hadn't seen her since… since the accident. He'd thought about her a lot from time to time, even missed her. He always thought she was a tad annoying sometimes, but hey, people change, maybe she changed.

He sat in his Ford F150 for a moment, thinking. Taking a deep breath, he got out and walked into the building to wait for her.

__________________

Ember walked in and looked around for Mark. She wasn't sure she'd recognize him, but there he was, standing about a foot taller than everyone else, and she knew it was him. She smiled and walked over to him. Much to her surprise, he pulled her into a hug.

"Wow, hello Mark!"

He chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey Ember. It's good to see you. I know Kane will be glad to see you, too."

She sighed.

"Let's hope so…"

****

To be continued… (About the Ouija Board incident that Mark had before, getting hit in the face with it… My cousin gave me her old one, and one time she and a guy friend were playing with it, and it flew up and hit him in the face. :P)


	4. Opening Doors

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. 

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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'Taker let Ember to Kane's locker room. She looked at him, biting her lip nervously.

"He hasn't come out of there for days… We're all scared for him."

She nodded, looking at the door. She touched the door handle, then slowly began to turn it…

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Ember opened the door to Kane's room, tiptoeing in. Her best friend sat curled up in a corner, hiding his face, crying. He grabbed a notepad and a pen, his only way to communicate until his vocal cords grew strong enough to speak. He wrote:

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They made fun of me, Ember, they wouldn't stop… they wouldn't stop…

He broke into choked, strangled sobs as she read the note. Tears rolled down her cheeks as well. She sat next to him and held him. He rested his head on her shoulder and cried and cried. She ran her fingers through his hair, which was now down to his shoulders, to hide his face.

"People are stupid, love. Just plain stupid. They can't see you the way I do, they can't see past the damaged exterior and see the wonderful, charming, handsome man within."

She took his hand, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles. He sniffled a little, then grabbed his pen and paper again.

__

Promise me you'll always be there for me… please…

She smiled.

"Of course I'll always be there for you, silly. Why would I ever leave you?"

______________________

Ember took a deep breath and pushed the door open, stepping in and shutting it behind her. The room was pitch black. She fumbled for a light switch, but a large, strong hand gripped hers before she could.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

She bit her bottom lip.

"To talk."

He didn't quite recognize the soft, whispery voice yet.

"Get out! If you've come to make fun of me, then I suggest you get out… before I tear you limb from limb."

Ember's face went from pain to anger, and she used her free hand to turn on a light switch. They were both blinded for a moment, and Kane jumped backwards and hid his face, going back to the corner.

"GO AWAY! LEAVE! JUST LEAVE!"

He backed as far back as he could into the corner, as though he believed it would soften and let him go through it. Ember quickly ran to his side and grabbed his arm, despite his thrashing and screaming.

"Kane, it's me! Kane, look at me! Look!"

He calmed for a moment, slowly peeking at her through his hand.

"… Em?"

She nodded, smiling, tears pooling around her eyes.

"Is… is it really you? Or are you an illusion? I've been seeing lots of those lately, they make fun of me, they… they won't leave…" he rambled on, beginning to cry, until she put a finger to her lips.

"Shh… yes, it's me."

She sat next to him and hugged him, and she made him lay down and rest his head in her lap. He didn't have hair for her to stroke and play with, so she rubbed his shoulders soothingly.

"How…?"

"'Taker called me… Said you were having some issues… They made you unmask, huh?"

He nodded, slowly turning into the child he was before all of this happened.

"They won't stop making fun of me, Ember… they never stop."

She bent down and kissed his cheek, then held his hand, entwining her fingers with his.

"Who's they?"

"Everyone… "

"From what 'Taker tells me, no one's making fun of you… sure, they probably feel uncomfortable, but they're not laughing at you. You weren't very funny before the fire, what makes you think you are now?"

She smiled as he let out a small laugh between his tears.

"I _did_ see a video clip, though, of you mocking Hogan and The Rock… that was funny, and positively adorable."

He sniffled and wrapped an arm around her waist, sitting up and resting his head against hers.

"Em?"

"Yeah Kane?"

"… I love you. Thanks for coming."

She smiled and hugged him tight.

"I love you too. Best friends forever, no matter what, right?"

He nodded and smiled a little.

"Right."

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To be continued, I hope you all like. J 


	5. Fire

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. 

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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---Flashback Sequence---

Kane didn't understand what was happening around him. Ember was crying all the time, she was bruised up really bad. He'd heard words of her leaving. Leaving? Where is she going? Why? It all confused him so much. No one would let him near her, either. It was starting to scare him. His only friend in the world, the one that said she'd be there forever…

"She lied… She said she'd always be there… Why is she leaving?!"

He screamed out and punched the wall, leaving a slight dent. He crumbled to the floor, hugging his legs to his chest.

"Don't leave… please Ember… Don't leave."

--------End--------

Kane looked at Ember for a moment.

"Why did you leave me? I was in so much pain, why did you leave me when I needed you the most?"

Ember froze. How was she going to answer that?

"Now's not the time to tell you about that, Kane…"

"All I remember is you got beat up pretty bad somehow… you were always crying, it scared me. And then you left… just… packed up and left. That was the last time I ever saw you."

Ember opened her mouth to say something when 'Taker walked in. She breathed a sigh of relief; she definitely wasn't ready to tell Kane what happened.

'Taker walked over and sat on the other side of Ember on the floor.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Ember smiled and swung her other arm around 'Taker's huge shoulders.

"Pretty good, now that I got my two favorite guys!"

'Taker rolled his eyes (no, not the sexy eye roll, the 'oh brother' eye roll). 

"Yeah yeah, don't get too mushy."

She smiled and kissed 'Taker's cheek. He laughed a little and nudged her off.

"Hey now, none of that, I'm married."

Kane's eyes lit up.

"But I'm not!!"

Ember grinned and hugged Kane, kissing his cheek.

"You guys are… strange. Just strange."

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Ember and Kane sat in his room, playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Whoever lost a round would have to take a dare from the winner. They giggled and laughed, having a good old time, when Ember noticed something.

"It smells funny in here… like burning." 

Kane tilted his head, then looked around.

"I don't smell anything. It's probably--" 

He stopped, looking at the door. Smoke slid in beneath it and through the cracks. Suddenly, towards the bottom, flames appeared.

"Shit!! Ember, open the window! We're gonna have to jump."

"JUMP?! Are you CRAZY?"

"No I'm not! Hey, I won the last round of RPS, I dare you to JUMP OUT THE DAMN WINDOW!"

Ember whimpered.

"But… "

"Oh for God's sake woman, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!! You've climbed up and down to get through my window plenty of times, this shouldn't be so bad!"

"But--"

"GO!"

Ember ran quickly to the window, opening it. She climbed out slowly, then lowered herself down with the piping. Kane followed, and they got out safely. They were sitting and waiting for the firemen when Kane heard a piercing scream.

"MOM!"

Without a second thought, he got up and ran towards the house.

"Kane!! Kane, stop!!"

It was too late, he had already ran in… 

Hours later

Mark and Ember sat together outside, waiting. The firemen went in one last time to find anyone, but no one was found yet. Ember was wrapped in a blanket, crying on Mark's shoulder.

"Em?"

She sniffled in response.

"I… I started the fire. I didn't mean to, I swear!! I was in the embalming room, and… and.. I lit a match for a lamp, and something startled me and I dropped it, and it caught onto some of this fluid stuff on the floor. I didn't mean to, Ember, honestly… I'm so sorry."

She nodded, then heard shouting. She looked up, and two firemen were carrying out an unconscious Kane. She got up and ran over.

"KANE!"

They laid him down on a stretcher. His face looked… melted, charred. Her hand flew to her mouth before she could scream, and then she began to cry. As they hoisted him into an ambulance, she crumbled to the ground, screaming and crying. Mark rushed over and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, helping her up. She calmed down a little, watching the ambulance drive away.

"Please don't be dead, Kane… please…"

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TBC… sorry I posted the post-fire flashbacks before the fire flashbacks… the post-fire ones seemed relevant to the story at the time… lol


	6. Painful Memories

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. 

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

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Ember got called over to the Calloway's new house. Mark and Kane had been living alone together, since their parents died in the fire. Mark sounded a bit scared when he called, and said she needed to come over immediately.

The moment she was up to the door, Mark grabbed her hand and pulled her in, shutting the door quickly.

"He's upstairs in his room… Jesus… he fucking took out like five people at work today because he thought they were making fun of him! They're all… in the hospital, intensive care."

Ember gasped.

"Oh my God… is he--"

"He's up there, still raving like a lunatic about how people are making fun of him. He's gone nuts, Em. I was scared to go up there myself, but I know he'd never hurt you, I was hoping you could talk to him."

She nodded, taking a deep breath and walking up the stairs. When she got to his door, she heard maniacal laughing coming from the inside. Suddenly, she became more scared than she ever had in her life. She reached to open the door, when the door swung open and she was grabbed by her shirt and thrown across the room, the door shutting. Kane stalked over to her and grabbed her by the shirt, slamming her up against the wall.

"YOU'VE COME TO MAKE FUN OF ME TOO?"

Her eyes went wide; his voice sounded horrible, terrible. He sounded like a demon… and maybe he was. The demon inside him was released, and Kane was no longer Kane… he was a monster.

"Kane, listen to me, it's Ember! It's me! Kane, please, put me down, I haven't come to make fun of you!"

He growled ferociously and threw her down on the ground, grabbing the baseball bat next to his bed.

"I know what to do with little girls who make fun of me…" He raised the bat above his head, and just as he brought it down, she rolled away; but she wasn't so lucky the second time. He beat her and beat her; she coughed up blood, she didn't even have the breath to scream. Luckily, Mark had gotten there in time to stop him before…

Ember lay near-death on the floor, a pool of blood gathering around her. Mark took the bat away from Kane and shoved him into the walk-in closet, locking him in. Mark dropped to his knees beside her.

"Oh my god, Em…"

He didn't dare touch her, in case he'd make it worse. He called for an ambulance, and for the police.

One month later...

The doctors said she'd live; she had bruised and broken ribs, her face was bruised up pretty bad. She'd need crutches to walk, Kane had done a bit to her legs and they would heal in about 6 months if things went right. 

The police arrested Kane, but the defense won his trial, the lawyer made him plead insanity. His sentence was house arrest for 10 years, therapy, and he had to stay away from Ember until the ten years were up and the therapy was completed.

Ember decided to move away. She couldn't be near Kane anymore, not just because of the sentence, but fear. Besides that, how would Kane live with himself, seeing her every day like that? That wasn't one of HER reasons, but Mark brought it up. 

Ember stood in their living room. Kane was upstairs, of course, staying in his room.

"He has no idea what he did… he didn't know he attacked you, or the other guys at work. He blacked out."

Em nodded, looking at the ground.

"He can never know what happened. Do you understand me, Mark? He can never know."

"Know what?"

Kane had come down the stairs. He gasped, looking at Ember.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

She looked away, tears rolling down her cheeks. He tilted his head.

"Em?"

She looked up and forced a smile.

"I'm moving away; don't worry, you'll probably see me again someday. Good-bye, Kane."

Mark hugged her gently. Kane took a step forward, when he realized he wasn't supposed to go near Ember, but he still didn't understand why. He didn't understand why she cried, why she was hurt, everything. He especially didn't understand why she was leaving.

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"I'm moving away; don't worry, you'll probably see me again someday. Good-bye, Kane…"

****

To be continued… :'(


	7. Apologies

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked. 

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Kane lay in his hotel room, crying. He remembered why she left, why she had bruises and scars; it was his fault, all his fault. He had never cried so much in his life until recently. The guilt, the pain, the embarrassment, they were all too much for him to take.

There was a knock on the door. It was a strong, confident knock, so it couldn't be Ember. He didn't think he could bear to look at her, knowing that he did what he did. He sniffled and rubbed his face, sighing.

"Who is it…"

"'Taker. Can I come in?"

"Yeah…"

'Taker walked in, shutting the door quietly behind him. He walked over slowly and sat down next to his brother. Kane broke into sobs again and leaned on his older brother.

"I can't believe I did that, how could I have done that?" 

'Taker reluctantly wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders.

"No one blames you, Kane. You had gone through a lot of shit, and--"

"But I hurt her!"

"Perhaps you did, but she came back, didn't she? She came back to help you through what you've been going through, that means she still loves you, and probably always will."

Kane looked at the floor.

"They're all right. All of them. I _am_ a monster."

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Kane? It's Ember… can I come in?"

"Yeah…"

'Taker let go of his brother, and Ember walked in, resting her head on his shoulder. 'Taker got up and gave a small, thankful smile to Ember before walking out.

Kane looked at her, then immediately broke into tears.

"I'm so sorry, Em, I didn't mean--"

She hugged him tight.

"Shh. You weren't the one who hurt me, it was all the people who hurt you."

"It was so terrible of me, I mean, I had no idea, I'm so sorry…"

He hugged her back.

"I'll never hurt you again, Em. I promise."

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I don't know where else to go with this, anyone got suggestions? lol To be continued, by the way.


	8. Broken

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Title: Releasing The Demons

Author: Madelynn Rae

Description: Undertaker calls an old friend to help Kane cope with his problems from being unmasked.

Disclaimer: I own one character, Ember, the rest belongs to WWE.

Kane paced in his room, thinking. Could he tell her? How would he say it? How would she react? He thought of all the times they had together. He smiled and pulled a picture out of his back pocket of the two of them when they were much, much younger. They stood there, smiling, arms around each others' shoulders. They were too young to know what true love really was, but even so, at the age of nine, even at that age he worshipped her like a goddess. She had pulled him out of dark places many times in his life… and he'd be damned if he'd let her go.  
  
_I wanted you to know, that I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain,  
  
Because I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away…_

Ember sat in her hotel room, staring blankly at the floor. What was she going to tell him? What if he didn't feel the same? She wanted to stay with him, be with him, make sure nothing could harm him ever again.

__

The worst is over now, and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away  
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
  
Because I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away…

Taking a deep breath, she walked out the door and headed down the hall to Kane's room…

Kane sighed, frustrated. _To Hell with it! I'm just gonna wing it, and if I fuck up, I fuck up… the worst she can say is no. _He put the picture in his pocket and walked out the door and down the hall…

****

Cliffhanger! HA! But I'm sure you all know what's gonna happen anyway. Sorry it's been a while since I updated, got busy. Oh, and that song was Broken, by Seether. I didn't put all of it 'cause I didn't feel the need to, really. Just the parts that meant something.__


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